Remember those posters in your high school guidance counselor’s office: “what can I do with a degree in...”? At RIT, where students are often asked about their post-college plans, many of us are asking ourselves the same question. Christina Mulé, a fourth-year Psychology major, found her answer through her co-ops related to areas of psychology that interested her.

Christina’s interest in psychometry, the study of mental processing speed, led her to complete two co-ops focusing on this area of research. As she explains it, psychometry is “the branch of psychology that deals with the design, administration, and interpretation of quantitative tests for the measurement of psychological variables, such as intelligence, aptitude, traumatic brain injuries, personality traits, and more.”

During her first co-op, Christina worked in the office of Dr. Peter B. Sorman, a clinical neuropsychologist in Pittsford, NY. Her hard work and love of the field prompted her to extend her co-op position into a part-time job. In her time spent with Dr. Sorman, Christina has learned a good deal about the practical applications of psychology in the medical field.

“I now know what the real world of psychology is like...dealing with insurance companies, patients, referral doctors, etc.,” says Christina.

Working for Dr. Sorman lead Christina to the Children’s Hospital in Boston, a hospital affiliated with Harvard Medical School, where she completed her second co-op. Since Christina already had experience in psychometry, she was able to study a medical condition in a more in- depth fashion. This time, she studied the cognitive side-effects of patients being treated with steroids for leukemia and inflammatory bowel disease.

Christina’s study at Children’s Hospital helped her prepare
for another study—her senior project. She presented this work at the Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback (AAPB) Conference in Portland, OR. Christina’s research examined lateral eye movements of subjects completing both verbal and nonverbal tasks. After graduating from RIT, Christina plans to relocate to Boston, where she will pursue a graduate degree in psychology at Northeastern University.

Christina was active while at RIT, participating in sports, clubs, and working with other students. She played on RIT’s varsity soccer team from 2002-2004, worked as a peer mentor for the Psychology Department, and was active in the Psychology Club. Her long list of accomplishments and experiences, in part, have led to her chosen career path.

“Learning more about psychometry is a great opportunity,”
she says. “It has opened many doors for me.”